I very much prefer his earnest stuff... Street hassle, The Bells, Coney Island Baby, etc.

I find nothing strange about hating part of his discography while absolutely loving other parts of his work, especially since he tried so many different approaches during his "how to tell the Transformer fans to fuck off" phase in the 1970's before getting his groove back.

So, Mr. Ellis do you get into, or not like Crass? You're a just a few years older than me and from "Over There". Lots of slogans and such, but some good arguments I think. I remember talking to my friend Heather about Reality Asylum. I said "It's a feminist attack on Christianity, I don't really give a shit about feminism or Christianity I..."She finished my sentence "You just like the attack."

I never thought I'd see mention of the Arch-Drood on Whitechapel, I don't know why. I used to really enjoy the Teardrop Explodes but Cope's solo stuff was great up until he went all earth mother fixated, though even 20 Mothers has some great tracks on it. I've often wondered what would ensue if you got Julian Cope and Dave Sim in a room together.

for me billy bragg is an odd one.i think he'd be a great neighbour and i imagine he'd be fun to go for a pint with but his music pretty much passes me by.that said though i absolutely love New England. especially the 'It's wrong to wish on space hardware.' bit.